By Shayla Moore

One of the hardest things about Valentine’’s Day can be buying the perfect gift. This is especially true when you are involved with the person who has everything. If you ask what they might want this Valentine’’s Day and they do not tell you and you are hard pressed to find something because they truly don”t need anything, the following ideas may just surprise them.

A Lover’’s Weekend
This gift idea is definitely one that will benefit you and your lover. A vacation or a week-end getaway will not only relax and appease both of you, but it will give you the chance to enhance your relationship away from normal, everyday life. Take your lover somewhere you know they want to go, but you”ve never gotten around to it. You might want to consider a wintry weekend retreat or a trip up to the beach. You don”t have to jaunt off to Europe, though if that’’s a possibility it would definitely make quite a reaction!

Some possibilities here include:

Private hotel getaway
Casino trip
Trip to the beach/mountains
Another city/state/country

Romantic Boat Ride
If you love someone that loves water why not consider planning a beautiful boat ride? Most states with open bodies of water also have charter services of some kind. You can easily create a romantic evening cruise around the lake/ocean. Some of these cruises even include gourmet meals. Nothing will end up being more romantic then good food and wine, along with the sea, stars, and the person you love. It’’s definitely worth the consideration. If you do not know where to begin looking, go to a search engine and type in your area and charter cruises. This should get you started.

Experimentation Session
As you look for ideas to give the lover who has everything, one idea could be pleasure. For starters, this is something that your lover will not be expecting and that they will definitely want. Think of what your lover likes sexually or has mentioned possibly having an interest in and give them what they want for the evening. Try something new with them or for them. For some couples, this may mean a night of mutual masturbation or a session of spankings and harder play. For other couples it might mean the inclusion of a wide range of toys to experience multiple levels of pleasure.

True Love Coupons (Handmade)
A good, great idea for the lover who has everything is homemade love coupons. Rather than giving them something material they may or may not need, this handmade gift will come in handy throughout the year. When making these coupons, consider adding coupons that are racy and those that are practical.

Some racy ideas include:

Free Massage
2 hours of Body Worship
A Night of Oral Stimulation
A Night of Anal Play
One Spanking
One New Toy

Non-racy ideas might include:

One Night Away from the Kids
One Day to Sleep In
One Free Lunch (Meal) on the Town
One Free Repair (can also be done in specifics)
One Car Detailing (paint job, oil change, etc.)
One Housecleaning

About The Author

Shayla Moore is a writer for http://www.oasislingerie.com She has many intresting topics and ideas for all to read about. Check out more of her articles.

By Shayla Moore

Whether you choose to be unique or traditional this year, Valentine’’s Day is about romance of the highest form. It is not expected that romance take the same shape every year for every couple, but it should be presented in a way that leaves the couple remembering why they fell in love and how good it feels to be there.

Unfortunately, many people only focus on one specific area of the tradition as opposed to making the entire day something magical for the person they love. For this reason we have attempted to list the most popular Valentine’’s Day traditions in order to help you create the perfect day from start to finish.

Breakfast in Bed
One of the best ways to start the day will be having breakfast served to your lover while in bed. You can climb back in bed with them and feed them if the mood strikes you, or you can offer them their meal and head off to an early day. Either way, this will be a great start to their day, which they will be sure to appreciate. If you have time you might want to follow it up with a shower for two and some early morning lovemaking.

All-Day Pampering
As Valentine’’s Day is not a traditional holiday people still have to work in most cases. However, you can still offer your presence even while she is at work. Consider sending her and a close co-worker to lunch on you, picking her up for a romantic lunch of your own, or sending her flowers or another gift while she is at work so her friends can all fawn over your compassionate and romantic effort.

Dinner
Whether you are a great cook or a wonderful chooser of restaurants you should be prepared to offer some scrumptious meal options for your Valentine’’s Day supper. A romantic candlelight restaurant will work well or if possible, you can create the same effect at home. Remember to add wine and prepare or purchase an excellent (and possibly aphrodisiac-like) dessert.

Romantic Gifts
Romance should usually be left in the eye of the beholder. What will work for you, may not for other people. However, when people think romantic gifts and Valentine’’s Day they usually all come to the same conclusion. Choose gifts that are both traditional and that you know she has had her eye on.

Some ideas include:

Chocolates/Candy
Flowers
Coupons (list home repairs and other fun items that she can make use of)
Jewelry
Shoes
Lingerie

Of course, if she’’s been wanting her car detailed or painted and you have the means of offering that to her, you should go for it. Give her what you know she wants because in the end that will be what seems romantic to her.

Intimate Gifts
In addition to romantic gifts you might want to get her something more adult. What you choose in this area should definitely be considered before you purchase anything. You want to choose something you know she will like. While some women will adore massage oils, body creams, and vibrating goods, others will want something harder. Of course, paddles and other lover’’s toys are not for everyone. Consider her personality and interests when choosing the gifts that will enhance your special evening.

Couples Time
Once you have handled some or all of the above she should be perfectly in tune with the romantic nature of the evening. Spend some of the evening talking and enjoying one another in simple intimate ways. Giving her the little things that are normally missing from your relationship will increase the passion between the two of you. As you open up to her she will be more open to exploring other areas of your intimacy. While you may start the evening with simple kissing, this could lead to passionate embraces and lengthy lovemaking sessions to put an end to the perfect romantic day.

About The Author

Shayla Moore is a writer for http://www.oasislingerie.com She has many intresting topics and ideas for all to read about. Check out more of her articles.

By Corina Clemence

Accordingly to general research on dating behaviour, the period between the December holidays and Valentine’’s Day is National Break-up Season when people are more than twice as likely to think about breaking up than at any other time of the year.

We can all blame the New Year and peoples” New Year resolutions. Forget “Lose Weight”, “Get a better job”, and “Save”. January is of course the month when people focus on resolutions to be healthier, richer, and most importantly happier. “Get a better love life” or worst still “Get a new love” ranks up high among New Year resolutions. The ugly truth is that over the holiday seasons people prefer to be one of a couple for all of the Christmas parties and family gatherings and they tolerate much more than they would in any other month of the year than December.

This is heightened by the fact that as soon as Christmas is finished all the Christmas trees, Rudolphs and Santas are ripped down and replaced with Sales banners for two weeks and then with seas of red ribbon and pink hearts. Retailers have their minds focused on the next biggest retail event on the Calendar - Valentine’’s Day. Over 180 million Valentine’’s Day cards were sold last year and this did not could the kiddies packages of bulk Valentine’’s Day cards for the kids to give to everyone at school. Lets face the cold hard truth Valentine’’s Day is big business.

So when the New Year eve chimes have finished sounding, it is the time many people evaluate their relationships and ponder whether they are with the right partner. The cruel statistics are that nearly 4 out of 10 people at this time of year reassess their dating life or marital status.

So beware Cupid is charting a tricky course for all of us over the next few weeks. With Valentine’’s Day less than a month away now, chances are you”ve got love, or something like it, on your mind. If you have not given the fact it is now National Break-up Season you should have.

Our suggestion for Valentine’’s Day is forget the dozen long stemmed red roses this year that is of course unless you have money to burn, and if you do get the roses delivered to your love’’s place of employment. Valentine’’s day is referred to as “Extortion Day” by some for very good reason. . Buy a single rose, if your budget is limited, you can normally get these at Department stores cheaper than what you can get them at Florists.

Forget about the mass produced Valentine’’s Day cards and make your own. Remember it is not about what it looks like but the effort that you put into it.

Do not go out for dinner on Valentine’’s Day unless you like getting sized up by all the other diners as they sit their wondering who in the room has the most dysfunctional relationship.

Flowers do not last long, and lets face it fake flowers for Valentine’’s Day are incredibly tacky and candies cause cavities and more dentist bills. If you really do feel the pressure to buy something for Valentine’’s Day make it lingerie. Consider it an investment. It lasts a hell of a lot longer than flowers and candy.

Save your money and instead of spending it on all the extortionate merchandising go away for a long weekend somewhere romantic and intimate that is not crowded and spend some quality time together. If you have kids arrange for the kiddies to be sat by the grandparents or do a swop with some friends. Arrange to look after their kids for one weekend and do the same for them another.

About The Author

Corina Clemence runs Chateau du Guerinet, near Blois a romantic luxury chateau with only six suites set in the middle of a 4000 acre forest perfect for visiting Loire Valley’’s chateaux vineyards and for relaxing. Rent a castle in France www.loirechateau.com Rent a french chateau

By Dave Smith

It seems like we”ve been covering most of my least favourite Bible passages of late, so perhaps I should have expected this one to come along - “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her”. Another winner!

And what a good passage to have on the day of a baptism! Certainly it serves as a subtle way of informing any divorced parents who may be visiting us today, and who may be thinking about getting their children baptised, don”t bother coming here!

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her”. That’’s our stance, and we don”t want any no good adulterers or adulteresses around here, nor your children of questionable origin!

Now, before someone actually does get up and try to punch me, I should point out that if there is a finger here being pointed at persons who have failed in their marriages and have been divorced and remarried, that finger is pointing squarely at me!

I am a divorcee, and I have remarried, and the church (not this church but the greater Diocese) never lets me forget that!

I received my synod badge the other day. This gives me the privilege of getting access to the 2006 sessions of the synod of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. It’’s a privilege I”m afraid I rarely take advantage of. Even so, I was fascinated this year to see that they”ve inserted some letters under my name - ”ACIC”.

In truth, I”m not entirely sure what these letters stand for, but I”m guessing that they stand for ”Acting Curate in Charge”, which, if correct, means I must have been demoted again!

I used to be ”Acting Rector”. I”ve never been permitted to become full rector of this parish, despite having now been here for 15 years. I”m technically still a casual in this position, whose tenure is entirely subject to the whim of the Bishop, and I think now I must have descended still one step further down the ecclesiastical ladder!

In truth, I really don”t care what label they apply to me here, so long as I”m free to continue to do the work I feel called to do. Even so, I know full well that there is only one reason that I get this label, and that is because I am one who has been divorced and has remarried, and so in the eyes of the establishment I will always remain a second class cleric, and should consider myself lucky to have been allowed to continue in this ministry at all.

Of course, it’’s possible that I”ve misinterpreted this badge, and that the letters actually stand for, ”Arch-Chancellor in Constantinople!”, but I don”t think so.

In truth, as I say, I really don”t care what label people apply to me personally, except in so far as it is a testimony to the fact that they will not let me forget my failings. And yet it was Jesus Himself who said, .”Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her”. That seems pretty final, and who are we to question the Lord Jesus?

No wonder the historic church has always viewed divorced persons in such a dim light, and refused to baptise their offspring.

By maintaining a high standard, and excluding divorced and/or adulterous persons from the fellowship, we maintain the purity of the faith community as a whole. Of course, for the person on the other end, the experience is something like having someone put the boot in when you”re already doubled up on the ground!

A woman by the name of Doris Mae Golberg wrote some lines which summed up for me my experience of divorce:

I have lost my husband, but I am not supposed to mourn.
I have lost my children; they don”t know to whom they belong.
I have lost my relatives; they do not approve.
I have lost his relatives; they blame me.
I have lost my friends; they don”t know how to act.
I feel I have lost my church; do they think I have sinned too much?
I am afraid of the future,
I am ashamed of the past,
I am confused about the present.
I am so alone,
I feel so lost.
God, please stay by me, You are all I have left.

At this point, in my experience, the church regularly responds by putting the boot in. That’’s what happened to my parents when they were divorced. I copped my share when my turn came, and I”ve since been through it with so many friends. Is this really the attitude we think that the Lord Jesus would have us take?

Personally, I think that even a minimal amount of Bible study would suggest to us that judgement is not the final word of the Lord Jesus in this matter, and it may not even be the first word. For one thing, in the very passage we read this morning, where Jesus seems to speak so aggressively towards divorcees, that dialogue is immediately followed by him welcoming the children indiscriminately!

As I”ve suggested already, those who make distinctions between people on the basis of their marital status, generally pass judgement not only on the remarried couple, but equally upon their children, who are judged as being the unholy offspring of an adulterous and sinful relationship!

If Jesus Himself had taken this attitude, we might have expected him to say, “Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them, except for those of dubious parentage, who I”d prefer you kept well away from me!”

Jesus does not make any distinction between the children. He embraces them all, regardless of their race, their colour, their gender, or their parental pedigree! And just as He does not withhold his love from any of his children, Jesus is on record as refusing to judge someone who was caught being openly adulterous!

If you are a student of the Bible, you will remember the passage from John 8, where the religious leaders drag the poor girl before Jesus and ask him whether they should stone her as an adulteress, according to their law. Jesus says, “Let the one who has never made any mistakes cast the first stone”, and when they all disappear, Jesus says to the woman what I think are some of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture, “I don”t condemn you either!”

The church has too often been quick to condemn. Jesus though rarely condemned anybody. Indeed, to be quite blunt about it, the only people we see Jesus condemn in the New Testament are not weak and sinful people who have failed, but pompous, self-righteous religious people who think the sun shines out of them.

About The Author

Rev. David B. Smith (the ”Fighting Father”) Parish priest, community worker,martial arts master, pro boxer, author, father of three.
Get a free preview of Dave’’s book,Sex, the Ring & the Eucharist when you subscribe to his newsletter at www.fatherdave.org

By Shayla Moore

Valentine traditions date back as far as the Middle Ages. When Valentine’’s Day was created it was not meant to be a time for lovers. However, this quickly changed. There have been many stories about St. Valentine, who he was and what he did for people. Occasionally, the history of the event is sensationalized to make a better story than it is. However, whether it was meant to be for lovers or not, February 14th was chosen, and ended up being the perfect choice for lovers to celebrate.

In nature, mid-February, around the 14th, birds begin to choose their mates. Songbirds begin to appear from winter, slowly during this time, as well. Poets such as Chaucer, Michael Drayton, and Robert Herrick immortalized Valentine’’s Day, writing poems about love and romance. With all of this behind Valentine’’s Day it is no wonder that there are special traditions and celebrations for lovers each year.

Valentine’’s Day traditions are different in every culture around the globe. While nearly every country celebrates the special day, how it is celebrated will vary greatly. While in America the traditions and customs are all romantically based, in other areas of the world some of the past customs have been more about the future and less about the celebration of your current lover.

For example, old English customs often had a woman searching and hoping for her future husband to come along. One custom had a woman visiting a graveyard on the eve of Valentine’’s Day at midnight. If she went through with it she would then sing a chant and run around the church twelve times she might then see what her future husband would look like. Meanwhile, in Great Britain women would write the names of their suitors and place them on clay balls. The balls were to be sunk into water. Whichever ball floated to the top first would contain the name of the man they were to marry.

One of the first traditions for Valentine’’s Day ensured that the pairing future lovers would occur. Names of women that were available would be placed into a large wooden bowl. Eligible bachelors would pick a name and that would be the woman to become his Valentine. The man would wear the name of this girl on his sleeve for one week. If you”ve heard of the saying about wearing someone’’s heart on your sleeve, and wondered where it came from, this may be where the phrase first started.

In Wales gifts of wooden love spoons would be carved out and given to lovers or people that they were in love with. The spoons were often carved into keyholes, keys, and hearts. This would show the person who received it that they held the key to someone’’s heart.

Meanwhile, in other countries women would receive gifts of special clothing from men who loved them. If a woman decided to keep a man’’s gift then it meant that she was accepting a proposal of marriage. There are many other customs that have occurred throughout history, though these were some of the most popular.

Today, Valentine’’s Day is all about your current lover. Celebrations occur that include romantic dinners, sensual trysts, and gifts that only lovers should give to one another. This one day of the year allows for the most romantic gestures to occur. On this day there are numerous proposals, weddings, and renewal of vows or declarations of love. It is and will always be one of the most romantic days for lovers, in history.

About The Author

Shayla Moore is a writer for http://www.oasislingerie.com She has many intresting topics and ideas for all to read about. Check out more of her articles.

By Corina Clemence

It is not true that Valentine’’s day is a holiday invented by greedy greeting card companies eager to sell more stock or by candy companies to sell more chocolate, or general retailers to create more business once Christmas is over. It is easy to imagine that Valentine’’s Day was created by them because as soon as the stores put away their Christmas merchandise, out comes the Valentine’’s Day items - even though Valentine’’s is still more than six weeks away.

In a blink Rudolph and Santa are replaced with red ribbon and pink hearts and mass produced Valentine’’s Day cards in thousands of designs and sizes - large, small, serious, silly, inexpensive, expensive, musical (my least favourite because they sound so tinny) and traditional ones. Valentine’’s Day is the biggest single twenty hour period for florists, a huge event for greeting card companies and a boon for candy
makers.

Valentine’’s Day began more than 1,500 years ago. According to legend, Valentine was a priest who performed marriages in continued defiance of the orders of the Roman emperor Claudius. The emperor had realized that no young men wanted to join his army and then leave their wives and sweethearts. When it was discovered that Valentine was still performing marriages in secret, he was cruelly sentenced to death.

Valentine allegedly cured the jailer’’s daughter of blindness and on the night before his execution, he sent a note to her signed “from your Valentine”. Reportedly he died on February. 14, 269 A.D.

More than 200 years later in 496 A.D., February 14 was named by Pope Gelasius to honor St. Valentine. Today more than 1,700 years have passed since the real Valentine died, and people are still celebrating Valentine’’s Day in a big way. A staggering 180 million Valentine’’s cards were sold last year.

It may never have occurred to you that Valentine’’s Day is a major crisis day for anyone who is having an affair. After all, Valentine’’s Day is the one holiday when everyone is expected to do something romantic for their spouse or lover — and if someone has both, it’’s a serious problem and a logistic nightmare.

Not surprisingly then one of the most busiest groups of professionals on Valentine’’s Day is the private detective when their workload can quadruple. Most people figure if anything suspicious is going on it will show itself around Valentine’’s Day. Apparently it is a huge mistake for a cheating husband to book a business trip over Valentine’’s Day. It rates really highly on the scale of suspicious activity.

The competition element of what your spouse did for you on Valentine’’s Day is another highly disconcerting fact. Some people believe the main event is the day after when some women get together and the comparisons begin.

The competition factor can be particularly acute on the night as well if you go out for a meal on Valentine’’s Day - what you basically have is a collection of couples spending the whole night discretely observing each other in a restaurant, trying to reassure themselves that their relationship is less dysfunctional than the others.

Last year at a flash restaurant in London on Valentine’’s Day night a couple started arguing and the wife stood up, slapped the husband across the face and then stormed off in a huff. The husband composed himself, took a few more sips of his red wine and then proceeded to loudly call his mistress on his mobile. Within 15 minutes the immaculately dressed younger mistress turned up at the restaurant and sat down delighted that her lover had arranged the restaurant meal especially on Valentine’’s Day.

The first course arrived and then you would not believe it but guess who should walk back into the restaurant but the wife. Heated words flew, culminating in the wife pouring the rest of the bottle of red wine all over the husband’’s head and then the wife and mistress leaving together joined arm in arm in their thorough disgust with the sod of a man in their lives.

All this occurred whilst the other diners where sitting there quietly totally bewildered but secretly impressed with how fabulously functional their own relationship was.

The interesting twist that all came out in the newspapers the week after is that the colourful threesome were actors hired by the restaurant specifically to entertain the diners and make them feel grateful about the state of their own relationships.

This year you can avoid the actors and private detectives by stealing away somewhere quiet with your special someone. Do not whatever you do go away on a business trip over Valentine’’s Day, or for that matter go on a conference on the preceding or following weekend since Valentine’’s Day falls on a Wednesday this year.

About The Author

Corina Clemence runs Chateau du Guerinet, near Blois an exclusive luxury chateau for up to 15 people perfect for an intimate romantic Valentine’’s Day getaway. Rent a castle in France www.loirechateau.com Rent a french chateau

By Carolyn Bushong

Women never stop complaining that men are unemotional. But if you”ve watched your husband or boyfriend watch a football game, you know that he can be very emotional. His face can turn red, his muscles tighten, loud screams. In fact, sometimes it seems like he may have a heart attack if he doesn”t calm down!

The Superbowl is the culmination of a man’’s season of emotions about football. If you like football, that’’s great. You can watch the game with him and enjoy your emotional man. However, if you don”t enjoy football, like me, you dread the weekend. But you at least know that there’’s some finality to this season, and next weekend maybe the two of you can do something that you also enjoy!

Years ago when I was married,I was an angry football widow. It was one of the many reasons our marriage ended in divorce. I dreaded weekends and Monday nights. I was disgusted by the ugly sight of my husband in front of the TV drinking beer and yelling. I resented the hours he spend involved in this pastime, when he never had this kind of time or passion for me.

Maybe if my husband and I had spent the quality time together I longed for, I wouldn”t have resented the games. Maybe, if he”d ever shown emotions with me, I wouldn”t have felt so slighted. Maybe, if I”d gotten as involved in something I really enjoyed instead of trying to play the “good wife,” it wouldn”t have seemed so unfair.

In other words, the problem wasn”t really football. It was that I sat through those games with him, sacrificing my needs for his, hoping that someday he would do the same for me. Healthy relationships involve compromise and trade-offs.
But too often one person does most of the sacrificing. And no, it isn”t always the woman. But often it is. I resented the games because I resented my husband. Football was just symbolic of the other relationship issues my husband and I hadn”t resolved.

In my new relationship, I don”t behave that way. I”m no longer a football widow. I don”t sacrifice. I don”t try to please him, hoping he”ll some day please me. I don”t hope he”ll be emotional with me instead of the football game. I don”t think, “If he loved me, he”d want to talk to me instead of watch the stupid football game.” Instead, I make sure that I get my needs met — some on my own, and some within the relationship. I tell him what I want, and we make deals, like these:

* I”ll go to the Superbowl party with you if you”ll go to the ballet with me Friday night.

* You can watch the game uninterrupted and I”ll go to the mall and shop uninterrupted.

* Since you watch games every Monday night, I”m going to sing karaoke with my girlfriends every Monday night.

* During the games, you can drink as much as you want to and scream as much as you want to, and I won”t interrrupt you because I know this is important to you. However, every Wednesday night I want us to go out to a romantic dinner and talk about our relationship. Deal?

Don”t consider yourself a football widow. Instead take advantage of the fact that he likes football, and use that to pursue your own interests or to negotiate getting him to later do your favorite things with you!

About The Author

Carolyn Bushong, a Denver,CO licensed therapist, helps couples and singles in her office, on-line,& by phone. Author of: Loving Him Without Losing You, Bring Back the Man You Fell in Love With, & The 7 Dumbest Relationship Mistakes. Has appeared on Oprah. www.carolynsays.com. 303-333-1888.

By Keith Londrie

Have you always wanted to date someone in the military? You are not alone, as civilians dating military personnel is becoming increasingly common in the dating community. Women love men in a uniform, and men love a woman who knows how to take care of herself. Dating military personnel could be perfect for someone seeking a devoted relationship that wont get discouraged easily. The military member must work hard on making it clear that he/she will be away at times or move every couple of years. The civilian must be able to accept these facts of military life in order for the relationship to work out.

There are web sites available on the Internet for meeting single military personnel. Civilians seeking someone in the military, as well as people serving in the military are welcome to post and view ads for free at “Military Date”. You could join “Dating Military Singles” to meet good people, have fun, and find romance. You will find that some sites charge a fee for premium membership but also offer a free membership for those who do not wish to pay.

Dating military personnel while in the military is also an option. It is quite unique to share a devotion to serving your country with someone you are in love with. Of course, you will have to also deal with possible separation if you have a different deployment location. A long distance relationship can be difficult in another city or state, its difficult to imagine how hard it could be if you are in two different countries.

A strong emotional connection is the most important part of a relationship. Dating military people makes this especially true. They spend everyday in dangerous situations and need a strong partner to confide in. Remaining loyal is the biggest struggle for a civilian dating someone in the military. Days can go by without getting to hear from the one you love. If you are capable of working out a long distance relationship, it could be the more rewarding relationship you have ever been in.

Military members are trained to be disciplined and respectful. It is not uncommon to find a devoted military member that would be true to you. I have know military members to be very structured in their environment. Their training goes a long way in changing the life of a military member, and that will be reflected in their actions.

About The Author

Keith Londrie II is the Webmaster of www.dating-information.info/ A website that specializes in providing information on dating that you can research on the internet. Visit www.dating-information.info/ now!

By Corina Clemence

Saint Valentine’’s Day is one of the biggest retail days in the calendar. In 2006, the average American spent around US$100 on his or her significant other, totalling $13.70 billion. Men typically spend about twice as much as women (in 2006 $135.67 and $68.64 respectively), mostly on cards, chocolates, flowers, and dinner at a swish restaurant. Approximately 180 million cards are exchanged industry-wide a year(excluding packaged kids” valentines for classroom exchanges), making Valentine’’s Day the second largest holiday for giving greeting cards, according to Hallmark.

The history of the tradition of dedicating the middle of February to love is complicated. The ancient Greeks dedicated that time to the rather passionate marriage of their prime gods, Zeus and Hera. In ancient Rome, on February 15, young nobles celebrated the Lupercalia which was regarded as a happy festival of purification and fertility with wild sensual dances and participants running through the streets naked striking passers-by. Apparently noble women would get in their way on purpose, because they believed that it would help with childbirth and cure barrenness.

This style of celebration proved a little too rowdy for the Christian emperors and at the end of the fifth century Pope Gelasius abolished the Lupercalia and replaced it with a festival to honour Valentine the patron saint of Lovers. Pope Galasius wisely adopted the old date for a more sedate version of a love-celebration - thus facilitating its acceptance among pagans.

He declared 14 February to be the feast of Saint Valentine. However which Saint Valentine the Pope meant to honour is not clear. Historically it is believed to be Valentine, bishop of Terni in Italy of 197 AD. He was killed during Emperor Aurelian’’s persecutions of Christians. It is believed by some historians that he could be one and the same as Valentine of Rome, a priest and doctor who treated the poor for free. This Valentine was martyred around 269 AD for helping imprisoned Christians. While in prison he converted his jailer by restoring sight to the jailer’’s daughter.

But as popular masses have a mind of their own and do not follow orders well, they chose their own Saint Valentine. During the middle ages, Valentinius of Alexandria, the ancient Egyptian city (c. 100-153) was the the most popular. He was destined for papacy, but his Gnostic preaching, and his emphasis on love in the bridal chamber, ruined his chances. Albiet his preachings made him an attractive candidate for a romantic Valentine’’s Day Saint.

The romantic Valentine tradition really took off in the 14th century, when courtly love was all the rage at the royal courts and it has proved immensely popular ever since.

It is interesting to note that the old Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints lists 11 Saint Valentine’’s Days, but in 1969 all of these were scrapped as historically insufficient. So when you are looking at your credit card statements in March pondering how your balance jumped so high, just take a moment to thank your lucky stars that there are not 11 Saint Valentine’’s Days.

This February, a famous landmark with a romantic history could provide the perfect location for a Valentines Day break. The Loire Valley in France fits the bill perfectly and you will not have to remortgage your home to pay your your romantic getaway.

It is said that “The Loire Valley is a Queen and the King loved her”. The Loire Valley conjures up imagines of fairytale chateaux with turrets, topiary and tapestries and fine wines accompanying great food. To visit the Chateaux of the Loire is to take a romantic step back in time to past centuries of French aristocratic life. The winding Loire River cuts through the land of castles deep in France’’s heart. No other stretch of Loire River can boast so many royal residences, with over 120 fairytale castles and mansions lining the river bordered by vineyards.

Royalty and nobility built chateaux in this valley during the French Renaissance, and an era of pomp reigned until Henri IV moved his court to Paris. The Loire is blessed with attractions, from medieval, Renaissance, and classical chateaux to Romanesque and Gothic churches to treasures like the Apocalypse Tapestries.

The best way to enjoy the Loire Valley especially for Valentine’’s Day is to not just visit historic chateaux but to stay in a chateau and to experience the grandeur yourself. You will not be disappointed for the cost of a little more than a boring old hotel room you can have a palatial suite in a renaissance castle with a canopied bed fit for a king. There are many chateau in the Loire Valley now available for lodging ranging from huge more pricey chateau hotels with Michelin starred restaurants to smaller intimate homely chateaux which are run as upmarket bed and breakfasts where you may be one of only six parties staying at the chateau. For the cost of two dozen long-stemmed red roses, a box of chocolates and a fancy dinner at an expensive restaurant in England or America, you could stay in an amazing chateau in the Loire Valley for three nights and feel like royalty. What is more in February you will avoid all the tourist rush at the historic chateaux and you can snuggle up with your love in front of a roaring fire.

About The Author

Corina Clemence runs romantic Chateau du Guerinet, near Blois a luxury chateau for up to 15 people perfect for a Valentine’’s Day getaway. Rent a castle in France www.loirechateau.com rent a french chateau

By Jeanette Shinn

The wedding flowers that decorate the church will go a long way toward setting the mood for your wedding. Done right, a selection of well placed wedding flowers can give your event the sense of joy, expectation, solemnity, or pageantry you and your intended anticipate for your wedding. Done poorly… well, your wedding flowers will set the wrong mood for your wedding at best. At worst, your wedding flowers will make it appear that your wedding happened in a tacky looking facility or several decades earlier (actually, it can get worse, but we won”t talk about that. The point is to make sure we stay on the top of the scale with our wedding flowers, not the bottom).

The success of your wedding flower arrangements and decorations depends on your florist’’s attention to detail, sense of style, flair, expertise, and the connection that the two of you achieve. Don”t assume that because a particular florist is highly respected you will get the wedding flower arrangement of your dreams. If there is no meeting of your minds, if you don”t feel like they are grasping what you are trying to communicate about your wedding flowers, theme, or both, keep looking. In most cases your wedding flowers will be more to your liking with your second choice that fully understands the theme and mood you are trying to set than with the reputed best florist in the city who isn”t listening or just isn”t managing to understand what you want from your wedding flowers.

Finding the right wedding flower specialist is easy if you begin your search prepared and know what to look for and what to stay away from: Being prepared means doing some dreaming about your wedding flowers. Doodle. Search bridal magazines. Look at wedding flower schemes in books and dream. Go to bridal shows. Go to weddings, if you can get an invitation, and dream. Collect pictures of wedding flower arrangements that you think will fit into the theme that you want to design your wedding flowers around. In short, have a pretty clear idea of what you want in your wedding flowers before you ever start visiting florists and bring the pictures with you. This will help them understand your vision for your floral arrangement.

The second step is like the first: Don”t even think of going to a florist without swatches of the material from your dress, the bridesmaid’’s dresses, and any other fabric that might affect the wedding color scheme (this is true of your cake decorator too). This is most especially true of your dress. White wedding dresses come in a wide variety of shades of white, so to ensure that the wedding flowers will properly accent your dress bring a swatch. A professional florist will know how to set it off so that the wedding flowers draw the attention to you in just the right way.

Once you have done your homework it is time to start actually looking for a florist to provide your wedding flowers. As in every other discipline, your first move should be to talk to people who have recently gotten married and get referrals from them. There is no shame in learning from the success and failures of others and doing so will generally save you a lot of grief. In the process, no doubt, you will discover that while most any florist can provide wedding flowers, some are more skilled, gifted, and experienced than others. Your goal is to identify these people and choose one of them to take the stress of your wedding flower needs off your hands.

Remember, wedding flowers work or don”t work on the florist’’s attention to detail, creativity, and their ability to match your style. But part of their ability to perform depends on you communicating what you want and providing pictures and swatches. It’’s your wedding; make sure it goes right by taking the time to prepare before you go shopping for those wedding flowers.

About The Author

Jeanette Shinn is a wedding professional with over a dozen years experience making dreams come alive. Find more great ideas for all your wedding needs at Filed under: Weddings